School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Super Max is devoted to fighting crime, especially Dr. Malevolent, and looking good. When Super Max learns that Dr. Malevolent has stolen a priceless statue, he heads to his nemesis's not-so-secret hideout to retrieve it. But Dr. Malevolent uses his new weapon on Super Max, transforming him into a potato. This is just the beginning of a hilarious story about a hero who needs to adjust to new circumstances. Laperla offers obvious and subtle humor, appealing to a variety of readers. Kids will get a kick out of the over-the-top action and enjoy watching Super Max come to accept his new role as a tiny tuber. The bright cartoons will draw in even the most reluctant readers, who will be happy to know that the series continues-this volume ends with a call for Super Potato to capture yet another outlandish villain. VERDICT A zany, funny selection that will entertain kids and the adults who might be reading over their shoulders.-Andrea Lipinski, New York -Public Library © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Super Max has a luxurious blond coiffure, a cape, big muscles (737, to be exact), and an outsized ego. So, it's humiliating when Doctor Malevolent shoots him with a new weapon and turns him into a potato. Now, he's Super Potato, a tiny figure with spindly arms and legs, and he's devastated: "Super Potato cries like a baby surrounded by onions." He still has superpowers, though, and once he rigs up a new costume for his potato-shaped self, he's ready to do battle with Doctor Malevolent (who looks like a slimmed-down Gru from Despicable Me) again. Super Patata has been available in Laperla's home of Spain for several years; this is its U.S. debut, and its uncredited English translation sounds natural and doesn't fumble. Laperla's parody strikes an easy comedic tone from the first page, and its wackiness unspools effortlessly. Full-color panel artwork combines caricature with handsomely drafted backgrounds of cityscapes and spaceships, and Laperla nails Super Potato's expressions of rage and exasperation. A promising start to a series with appeal to strong and reluctant readers alike. Ages 7-11. (Aug.)? © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
When an archvillain goes off-script and turns Super Max into a potato, the vain superhero quickly finds solace in being a powerful, handsome spud. This Spanish-import graphic novel for newly independent readers parodies classic comics but keeps the jokes and narratorial asides accessible for an audience new to the genre. Large, clear panels (one to four per page) and skillful illustrations further aid readability. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This graphic novel has "Gilligan's Island Syndrome."Fans of the old TV show got frustrated because, over and over again, Gilligan and his friends tried to escape from their desert island, and over and over again, they failed. This comic book has the same sense of futility. On Page 10, Super Max, a very blond, very vain superhero, is turned into a potato by his archenemy, Dr. Malevolent, and he spends the rest of the book trying to reverse the process. Alert readers will figure out, just about around Page 10, that it's never going to work, because the book is the first in a series, and because potatoes are funny. So the appeal of the story depends on the quality of the jokes, which varies widely. Some scenes are mordantly funny: The villain corrects an elegant waiter who refers to him as "Mr. Malevolent." But there are far too many potato puns. (Arguably, one is too many.) Still, the visual design is appealingly simple. Even most of the human characters bear some resemblance to spuds in shape, except for Dr. Malevolent, who looks a lot like a string bean. (He even has green skin, making him just about the only character who isn't white.)The main storyline lacks any suspense, but fans of Waiting for Godot may enjoy the sense of fatalism, and fans of Gilligan will admire the hero's persistence. (Graphic humor. 7-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Super Max is the kind of crime fighter who fixes his hair before flying to the rescue and asks his mirror who's the handsomest superhero of them all. So when his archenemy, Doctor Malevolent, turns him into a potato, Max's ego takes the hardest blow. Overcoming this hardship with a new potato-sized costume, he mashes Doctor Malevolent's plan to starch-ify the rest of the city. With the fiend at his mercy, the hero learns that turning potatoes back into people is impossible, which gives him a chance to prove that compassion is central to true heroism. The predicament also sets the character up for future, potato-shaped adventures. The art punches things up considerably, with well-constructed, flowing page layouts, humorously extreme reaction shots, and a stark and vibrant color palette that feels both classical and unique. If Loony Tunes was in the superhero business, this is something it might have baked up. A superhero romp with some age-appropriate examples of heroic behavior and a nonstop torrent of gags that work a decent portion of the time.--Jesse Karp Copyright 2018 Booklist
